Monday, January 12, 2009

5

Went in today to get the rest of my aligners. He said they are looking good but decided to go ahead with the over corrections to tighten the teeth up a bit more which I am pleased about. I don't think my RI-U2 has been brought down any but my bottoms are looking pretty spiffy. That tooth is one of the ones that are really feeling the new aligners. I brought an apple for lunch but that isn't going to be happening!I go back once I am done and I guess retainers? We'll see. And I'll post pictures soon.

PS. I cannot believe it has been almost a year. It really doesn't feel like that long but in a way it does because I hardly remember what my teeth looked like before. It seems as if they have been this way for a long time already.

7 comments:

Anonymous
said...

great blo. i've been following for sometime now.

i'm also on invisalign lookin to correct a gap in my front teeth; it was about the same size as yours. i'm currently on tray 15 of 16 and there's still some space and it's making me nervous. i don't think it'll fully close.

my question is: have you had your front teeth shaved? or do you have porcelain veneers?

i noticed a difference in the photos from your 9/11 post to the more recent. your two front teeth appear more perfectly shaped than before.

my teeth are a little mishaped, which may also be the reason my gap may not fully close. my dentist (not invisalign ortho) recommended i get porcelain veneers.

i'd prefer not to get fake teeth. if that's the case, i would've done that from day one and skip the braces.

i'm just curious to know how you got your teeth so perfectly shaped in the end stages of your treatment. i'm sorry if you already mentioned how, i must have missed it.

The way my teeth are, I don't think the gap will be as closed as I want either. Or maybe it is and I just can't tell since I see even a minute space as too much. Being gaped my whole life I think I am hyper aware of any space.

I think it might be the shape of my teeth as well(bigger on the bottom edges than the top part) which leaves a bit of a "black triangle" closer up to my gums.

Yes, the undersides of the two front teeth and a few of my bottoms were shaved at the appointment when I got the attachments off and got my new molds taken. My dentist did it because I wouldn't have as good of a fit with my new set of aligners and they'd be more noticeable. I am sure for aesthetic reasons as well.

That is unfortunate you were told about veneers because I totally agree, why would you go through all this trouble with invisalign if you could have had an easy out. Obviously you didn't want to permanantly alter your teeth like that.

It is scary and I did consider it but was quoted at 13,000 dollars and that is money I just don't have. Not to mention I'd live in constant fear that one would break off or chip or something.

But yeah, I'd ask your ortho or whoever is doing your invisalign if he/she'd shape your teeth for you. Between that and doing some IPR in between your two front teeth to make the gap smaller(if your teeth are more triangle shaped) maybe you'd feel a bit better?

Hi, your teeth look great! I also have a gap between my front teeth (same size as yours was), and I just started the treatment with lingual braces. I wish I knew that Invisalign could be an option for me. Now it's too late. I hope I'll achieve your result with the linguals. How many months did it take for the gap to close?Thanks for your blog!PS I am from Russia

Thanks for the comment. Does the place you are getting treatment offer Invisalign at all? I don't know how common invisalign is in Russia at the moment... I am sure you will have FANTASTIC results with your linguals, especially if you have any other problems besides just closing a gap. In fact, I bet you'll have even BETTER results than mine :)

It took 7 months for my gap to close. But since the aligners minimize the appearance of the gap it looked like my gap was closed in 5 months(when the aligners were ON my teeth).

Can I ask a question? Stupid I know, but I don't know many young Russians(my teachers are all old,) let alone someone that has braces themselves. Are braces a common thing for young people to get in Russia? or as common as it is for people in North America?

Hey, thanks for your reply!I am doing my MBA in France right now, and my ortho is in Paris. This is actually why I decided to get braces - the orthodontics is not that common in Russia, and every ortho I went to see has never dealt with my kind of problem. All of them offered to me 2yr long treatment with metal braces and no guarantee of a good result. I didn't see many young people wearing braces in Russia; I think it might be because it's too expensive for a middle class family.I had the linguals put in 3 weeks ago and since then keep looking at the gap - is it getting smaller? Can't wait for it to close!Thanks for your blog, it was very interesting to read.